World Para Athletics Championship: From heartbreak to golden high, Shailesh Kumar’s year of redemption

Shailesh Kumar’s fourth-place finish at the Paris Paralympics last year was a heartbreak he took more than two months to recover from. On Saturday (September 27, 2025), he upset USA’s Ezra Frech, the man who topped the Paris podium, to not just take gold on the opening day of the World Para Athletics Championships but also set a new championship record with a jump of 1.91m.

The 25-year old from Bihar’s Jamui district, a former Junior world para champion in 2019 and silver medalist in 2023, was visibly happy with his performance but insisted there was more to come. He had already confirmed gold with 1.88m but pushed himself to go higher before failing at 1.94m. “That was the target but it didn’t happen, the weather was also a bit hot and humid and tiring. But I am confident I can do it in the next competition,” Shailesh said after the event.

Playing at home, he admitted, was a big help. “First special thing was that it was on home ground so I felt good with the support. Secondly, the weather in India because we train here so we are used to it. And third, we don’t get Indian food when we go out so that helped a lot,” he said.

The Junior title helped him get into the Khelo India scheme and joining the Gandhinagar SAI Centre the same year where he still trains occasionally besides the SAI Centre in Bangalore. He is also a TOPS athlete for the past two years and the financial support – 10,000 per month in KI and 50,000 under TOPS — has been a big help.

At the other end of the spectrum was Varun Bhati, a 21-year old prodigy when he won bronze at the 2016 Rio Paralympics but has struggled to perform in the last several years. His last international medal came at the 2018 para Asian Games and the now 30-year old admitted it had been a tough period. “To be honest, I haven’t slept properly in the last 7-8 years, I will finally be able to do so tonight. 

“I had a lot of expectations from this competition but I am satisfied with the bronze. This is the most successful year of my life so far and it’s good to be back. A lot of things changed this time. My younger brother is my strength and conditioning coach, we tried new training methods and I also went to USA for 45 days to train on technical aspects. I am hopeful of doing much better in the Asian Games and next Paralympics,” Bhati insisted.